


The light has been broken (the spell has begun)

by Sparklyfairymira (myonetruelove)



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Halloween, Kid Fic, Minor Emori/John Murphy (The 100), Supernatural Elements, Werewolves, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27305563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myonetruelove/pseuds/Sparklyfairymira
Summary: Clarke has never been one to keep a job for long—she just hasn't found one that feels right to help supplement her art. Murphy tells her he has a friend that needs a nanny and she figured why not. Too bad said friend is anti-witch and Clarke is very much a witch. Not to mention his kids do not want a new nanny. To say things don't go well at first is putting it mildly, but can Clarke make it work? Prove to herself and to Murphy that she can commit to something?Or the one where Bellamy and his kids fall in love with Clarke.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 131
Collections: bellarkescord halloween gift exchange





	The light has been broken (the spell has begun)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jellybean96](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/gifts).



> Hello all! Here's another fic that I wrote for the Halloween exchange. It is heavily based upon the Hallmark movie October Kiss. Title of the fic is from a quote by Midgard Morningstar that I found on Pinterest.
> 
> If you're interested in seeing what else I'm writing and what my planned publication dates for that is, please check out my Tumblr post [HERE](https://sparklyfairymira.tumblr.com/post/632973715782729728/prompt-fic-updates).
> 
> As always this is a reminder that I'm a writer/creator for t100 writers for BLM initiative and we are still taking prompts. Please check out [the Tumblr page here](https://t100fic-for-blm.tumblr.com/) to see what we're all about. Is there a Christmas fic you'd love to read? A New Years story you want to read? A song you KNOW needs to be made into a video? Or want a fic trailer done for your fic (because I'm getting quite good at those lol).

Clarke waves her hand in front of her, the door springing open to find a surprised Murphy standing there. “Hey, Murph.”

“Why not use the doorknob like a regular person, Clarke?” Murphy steps back so that she can step inside. “And aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

Clarke bites her lip as she heads toward the kitchen, knowing that Murphy will follow her. “I quit.”

“Of course, you did.” Murphy laughs. “Let me guess, it just wasn’t for you?”

“It wasn’t!” Clarke crosses her arms as she narrows her eyes at Murphy. “Making coffee is harder than it looks.”

“Not if you used your magic.” Murphy raises his eyebrows as he considers her. “You’d be a lot better at a lot of things if you just helped yourself out.”

Clarke shakes her head. “I can’t use magic for personal gain, Murphy. That goes against everything that we’re taught.”

“But you can use it to open doors? Explain that one to me.” Murphy shakes his head as they hear thundering footsteps coming down the stairs. “Incoming!”

“Auntie Clarke!!” Olivia throws her arms around Clarke’s waist, the eight-year-old almost throwing Clarke off balance. “You’re home early! Daddy said you wouldn’t be home until after bed.”

“I just couldn’t stay away from you guys so I came home early.” Clarke rubs Olivia’s back as she reaches over to muss Liam’s hair.

“Not the hair!” Even at five, Liam is very specific about his hair. He says he always has to look his best. He steps out of Clarke’s reach before looking between his dad and Clarke. “Can we play a game since Auntie Clarke is here?”

Murphy sighs. “They never want to play with me and Mori when you’re around, you know that, right?”

Clarke shrugs. “Well, if you knew magic they’d want to play with you too.” She turns to the kids. “What do we want to play today?”

“Knights and dragons!” Olivia and Liam both jump up and down clapping their hands. 

Clarke laughs as she lifts a hand, waving it in front of the two kids until they’re dressed as knights with swords in hand. “Daddy and I are the dragons?”

“No.” Liam shakes his head. “You’re the princess. We’re going to save you from the dragon.”

“That’s very on-brand,” Murphy’s voice is droll as he shakes his head at her. “Well, get on with it.”

Clarke just grins as she waves her hand over Murphy until there is a mirage of a dragon in his place before waving her hand over herself, watching as she turns into a princess. While she might not use her magic for personal use when it came to work—she has no issues using it when it came to playing. 

Clarke lets out a scream as Murphy launches himself at her, taking both of them over the back of the couch as he begins tickling her. “Tickling isn’t fair!” she gasps between laughs.

“How else are dragons supposed to attack princesses?” Murphy laughs as the kids make their way around the couch swords raised.

“Let the maiden go!” Olivia yells.

“Or what?” Murphy snarls, turning his head and therefore the dragon image’s head toward them.

“Or we’ll slay you!” Liam says as he raises his sword.

Murphy throws his head back as he laughs, fingers digging harder into Clarke’s side. “Do your worst knight!”

Clarke wiggles beneath Murphy, but knows that unless she uses magic there is no way that she’ll get free. She continues to laugh at his assault while the kids begin wailing on him with their swords. She knows that the swords feel like being hit with pillows so it only makes her laugh harder when Murphy starts letting out fake howls of pain.

“Now, what in the world is going on here?”

They all stop, four heads popping over the back of the couch to find Emori standing there with her hands on her hips.

Clarke points her finger at Murphy, turning her head to see that he’s pointing his finger at her. Some things never change. Clarke and Murphy burst into laughter as Olivia and Liam run around to hug their mom. 

“Sorry, Mori. We were just playing a game before bed,” Murphy says as he helps Clarke to her feet.

“You spoil these kids, Clarke. They don’t want to play make-believe games when you can make it real for them.” Emori sighs as she leans down to kiss the kids on the head. “Upstairs. Get ready for bed. I’ll be up there in fifteen minutes and I expect you both in bed.” 

Clarke grins as she watches Olivia and Liam run up the stairs. “Sorry, Emori.”

“No.” Emori shakes her head. “I would never tell you not to play with them. I actually think it helps their creativity knowing that there is magic out there. Their friends are so jealous that their aunt is a real-life witch.”

Clarke shrugs. “Well, at least they have that claim to fame.”

“Hey, they have a werewolf for a dad. That’s a claim to fame too.” Murphy pouts, eyes narrowed on the two women. 

Emori comes over and kisses him lightly. “Yes, you know that they’re proud of that. They can’t wait to find out if they’re going to be werewolves too.” She looks between the two of them. “John, did you talk to her yet?”

“About what?” Clarke’s brow pinches.

“Not yet.” Murphy slings an arm around Clarke’s shoulder. “Why don’t you get the kids down and I’ll take Clarke out on the porch. We’ll have some wine and I’ll talk to her.”

Emori nods, squeezing Clarke’s arm as she walks by. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.”

Clarke watches Emori head up the stairs as Murphy grabs a bottle of wine and two glasses before leading her to their front porch. They sit down in the rocking chairs before Murphy pours them each a glass. Clarke leans back in her chair, rocking slightly as she takes a sip. “So, what’s going on, Murphy?”

“Well, I was going to talk to you before but then you got the job as the barista. But since that’s not a thing anymore.” Murphy lifts a brow when she opens her mouth to speak. “I’ve got a buddy—he’s human. He’s having a hard time right now and needs a nanny for his two kids.”

“I’m not a nanny, Murphy.”

“Well, you weren’t a barista or a yoga instructor either but you still did those.” Murphy shakes his head. “You’re good with kids. Olivia and Liam love you—even without the magic. And he really needs help.”

Clarke sighs. “What if I suck at it?”

Murphy shrugs. “Then you keep at it. You’ve got to learn to commit to something besides your art. You need to put down roots and find your place like I have.”

“Wow.” Clarke shakes her head. “I never thought that it would come to John Murphy telling me I needed to grow up and put down roots.”

“Well, someone needs to tell you. You’re not getting any younger, Clarke.” Murphy leans back as he sips the wine. 

“Well, thanks,  _ dad _ ,” Clarke huffs as she brings her legs up into the chair, wrapping her arms around herself. Fall is her favorite time of the year—the leaves, Halloween, the smell of fires, the slight nip in the air. There’s nothing better than a fall evening on the porch. “Okay, say that I do help out your friend. What is it going to entail?”

Murphy smirks and Clarke hates that he knows her so well. “I know he’s having to work on the weekends right now because he’s working on getting his book done on top of teaching at the high school. So it’ll be weekends and then three days during the week. You’ll have to get the kids ready for school and dropped off. Pick them up from school and keep them until he gets home.” He pauses. “He doesn’t like witches. His wife was a witch and her family had a curse—if they didn’t find their true loves by the time they were thirty they withered away and died. They’d been sure that Bellamy was Gina’s one true love, but apparently not. So you’ll want to keep the magic to yourself.”

Clarke sighs, shrugging. “That’s fine. Doesn’t sound too hard.”

“Good,” Murphy smirks. “I’ll call him and let him know you’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?! Seriously Murphy? Why do you hate me?” Clarke throws her head back.

Murphy laughs. “Don’t throw a fit. Like I said, he needs help and he needs it now. You need a job and I know that you’ll be great at this. It’s a win-win situation.”

“Bullshit.” Clarke shakes her head. “You just don’t want me in the damn house all day with you so you’re shipping me off to be someone else’s problem.”

“And if I am?”

“You’re just lucky I love you.” Clarke takes another sip from her wine, shivering as the wind picks up. She waves her hand, a fire pit appearing between them with the flames crackling.

Murphy leans forward to warm his hands over the fire. “And why would I ever try to get rid of you when you can do things like that?”

Clarke reaches over to smack his arm as she shakes her head. She may give Murphy a hard time, but she knows that he’s only looking out for her and for his friend. Murphy might be a dick half the time—hell, so is she—but once he considers someone a friend he’ll do anything for them. And she’s never been a nanny before, but she does love kids. This could be fun. And just because the dad doesn’t like witches doesn’t mean that the kids won’t like witches. 

* * *

Clarke drives along Elm Street, head bobbing from side to side to the music as she looks for the house number. She pulls up in front of 1142 Elm Street, nose wrinkling. It’s the only house on the entire block that isn’t decorated for Halloween. What kind of person doesn’t decorate for Halloween? Especially when they have kids? Well, she’ll add that to her to-do list and make sure that the house gets decorated. What’s the fun of Halloween without decorating?

She gets out of the car, pulling her large bag with her before making her way up to the door. She knocks. Waits. Nothing. She rings the doorbell. Waits. Nothing. She tries the doorknob and it’s locked—smart since there are kids inside. She considers using her magic to unlock it but shakes her head. Best not to start with that. 

Clarke steps off the porch and makes her way around the front of the house, noting movement in the windows of the front room. She steps between the bushes, standing on her tiptoes to look inside the window. She sees a man sitting at the desk, back to her. He has broad shoulders and unruly dark curls. Obviously, he can’t see her from here. She steps back and notices that there is a window on the other side of the room. Maybe she can get his attention from there.

Clarke hurries around and steps up to the window in question, waving her hands. It looks like he has earbuds in. That’s unfortunate. Clarke waves her arms around more, throwing herself slightly off balance. She tries to right herself but ends up over correcting. Her head thunks into the window and as she’s losing her balance she sees the man’s head jerk up and in her direction. 

Clarke’s back hits the dirt. “Owwww….” she mutters, closing her eyes for a moment.

A window opens and then she hears someone ask, “Hey, are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah. I always make memorable entrances for new employers so they can’t ever forget me.” Clarke laughs as her eyes pop open. When her eyes land on the man it feels like the breath is being sucked from her lungs. 

He is broad, shirt stretched across his shoulders and chest in just the right way. His skin a bronzed brown, freckles decorating his face and unruly dark curls spilling over his forehead. Why the hell hadn’t Murphy warned her that he was this hot? She curses him under her breath. He should’ve warned her. Jesus. Now she’s sitting here staring at him like a dolt.

“Hi, I’m Clarke. I knocked and rang your bell, but you didn’t answer.” She smiles, hoping that she doesn’t look completely crazed.

“Bellamy.” He holds up the earbuds. “Sorry, I was working on my manuscript and I have a habit of tuning out everyone and everything when I’m writing.” He glances toward the front door. “Why don’t I come let you in?”

Clarke nods. “Good idea.” She drops her head and lets out a breath as he disappears.  _ Great first impression, Clarke, _ she thinks to herself as she gets up. Doesn’t matter. She’s not here to meet a guy, she’s here to work. She brushes herself off before bouncing over to the porch as she hears the door open. 

Bellamy sticks his head out, jumping slightly when she jumps in front of him. “Sorry again about not hearing you. I hope it wasn’t hard to find.”

“Nah,” Clarke smiles. “I just looked for the only house with no Halloween decorations.”

Bellamy chuckles, looking down. “Yeah, that was more my wife’s thing than mine. We haven’t really done that since she passed.”

That wipes the smile from Clarke’s face. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. I didn’t-”

“It’s okay.” Bellamy shoots her a smile. “It was a long time ago. Five years ago last month. Come in.” He steps back to let her in. “So, Murphy tells me he’s known you his whole life.”

“Yup, we were neighbors growing up.” Clarke steps into the house, taking it in as she walks. It’s well kept, but it’s lived in. It’s the kind of house she loves. She hates houses that look like they’re ready for a photo shoot or a model house. What’s the point of having a house if it’s not lived in? 

“Can’t believe you’re still friends with him. I’ve only known him for six or seven years and half the time I don’t want to claim him.” Bellamy laughs as he shuts the door behind them, following her through the room. “Look, Murphy told me you’ve never been a nanny before—” He holds up a hand when she opens her mouth to speak. “That’s fine, I don’t have a problem with that. In fact, maybe that’ll work in your favor.”

“In my favor?” Clarke asks, tilting her head in question.

Bellamy sighs as he leans against the counter. “We haven’t had the best of luck with nannies. I dated one of their nannies and when we broke up about a year ago, it didn’t go well. It was the first time that I’d dated since their mom died. They got attached. Since then they’ve been holy terrors. We’ve got through ten nannies in the last year.”

“Oh, my Gods.” Clarke’s eyes are wide as she looks at him. Can she do this? She’s not sure she can deal with holy terrors.

“Please don’t let that scare you,” Bellamy begs. “At least give it a shot. We can talk when I get home tonight. I don’t normally work on Sundays, but my book is in its end phase so I’m working with my editor nights and weekends which is why I need you.” He grins. “You don’t know how grateful I am that Murphy suggested you.”

Clarke nods. “I’ll see how today goes and then we can talk about it.”

“Great. Thank you.” Bellamy goes to stand at the bottom of the stairs. “Ready to meet the kids?”

“Probably a good idea.” Clarke moves to stand next to Bellamy, glancing up the stairs.

“Kids! Can you come down here please?” Bellamy calls up the stairs.

There’s a pause before a young female voice calls back, “Why?”

“The new nanny is here. I’d like you to meet her before I head into work.” Bellamy sends her a look, apology written all over his face.

Another pause. “Why should we?”

“Tell them I’m a witch,” Clarke whispers before she can think about it.

Bellamy’s head jerks to her, eyes wide. Clarke laughs, patting his arm. “Don’t worry, I’m not, but they don’t know that.” She winks, thanking her lucky stars that she learned how to think quickly on her feet. That is the one thing that Murphy told her—don’t tell him she’s a witch. It shouldn’t be that hard, but she’s already blurted it out within the first ten minutes.  _ Good job, Clarke. _

Bellamy nods slowly before turning back to the stairs. “She’s a witch.”

There’s another pause before thundering footsteps can be heard making their way down the upstairs hallway and then down the stairs. A young girl and boy stand on the landing, the girl standing partially in front of the boy. Her eyes narrow on Clarke. “She’s not a witch.”

“And how would you know?” Clarke asks, grinning. “Do you know how to tell the difference between a human and a witch?”

The girl opens her mouth before snapping it shut, shaking her head. The boy sticks his head around the girl. “Well, if you’re a witch then you can do magic. Show us.”

“Oh, but I have to know people before I show them my magic.” Clarke winks. “Can’t just let anyone see it.”

Bellamy laughs. “The sassy one upfront is Cassandra—not Cassie or Cas or anything else, just Cassandra. She’s ten. The one hiding behind her is Damon and he’s six. He’s actually in Liam’s class—they’re best friends. This is Liam and Olivia’s Aunt Clarke, she’s going to be helping us out since you ran off the last nanny.”

“Well, she shouldn’t have been so sensitive.” Cassandra shrugs. “How were we supposed to know that she wouldn’t appreciate our acting out a Greek myth?”

Bellamy frowns. “I think it had less to do with the reenactment and more to do with the fake blood that she thought was real.”

Cassandra shrugs, nudging her brother. “C’mon, let’s go back upstairs.” 

Clarke watches as the pair head back up the stairs before turning to Bellamy. “They don’t seem that bad.”

“You say that now.” Bellamy laughs. “I’m sorry, I wish that I could spend a bit more time here with you and the kids before I left, but I’m already late. My editor is going to kill me.”

“That’s fine. You go. I have plans for the kids. I figured I’d take them to the Harvest Festival.” Clarke shoots him a smile as she tries to hide just how anxious she is. She’s used to Olivia and Liam—she doesn’t think Cassandra and Damon are going to be nearly as easy. But she can do this. Like Murphy said, she has to commit to something besides her art.

“Right. If you need anything call or text.” He nods to the fridge. “Numbers are there. If you don’t get me right away, I’m sorry. I get lost in my writing very easily. Call my editor if it’s an emergency. Oh, and you’ll need these.” Bellamy tosses her a set of keys. “Good luck. I should be home by seven.” He pauses. “Eight at the latest.”

Clarke laughs. “Thanks.” She watches as Bellamy grabs his bag, throwing it over his shoulder before heading out. He does wave on his way out the door which Clarke appreciates. She leans against the counter for a moment, taking a deep breath. She can do this. She glances at her watch. It’s only ten now. She closes her eyes, sending up a prayer to the Goddess for patience. She runs her hands over her face before pasting on a smile and heading up the stairs. 

At the top of the landing, Clarke finds all of the doors open except for one. It reads  _ Cassandra’s Palace _ on a purple castle posted on the door. She hears whispers from the room and assumes that both of the kids are in there—hopefully not conspiring against her, but she’s not holding her breath on that. She knocks lightly. 

The noise from inside stops and it’s quiet for a moment before she hears Damon call out, “Yes?”

“So I was thinking that we could go to the Harvest Festival,” Clarke says as she leans against the door.

“And why would we want to do that?” Cassandra pipes in.

Clarke sighs. Of course, it couldn’t be easy. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. There will be rides and pumpkins. Popcorn and funnel cakes. Hot chocolate. Petting zoos. There’s something there for everyone.” She pauses, waiting for them to answer. When they remain quiet she tries the doorknob, only to find that it’s locked. “Rule number one when I’m here, no locked doors.”

Cassandra laughs. “And how are you going to stop us?”

Well, this is certainly off to a great start, isn’t it? Clarke steps back and bites down on her lip to keep herself from responding. She waves her hand, smiling when the door unlocks and swings open to reveal Cassandra and Damon staring back at her, eyes wide. “You were saying?”

“How did you do that?” Damon asks as he steps forward, stopping when Cassandra’s hand lands on his shoulder.

“I told you I was a witch.” Clarke smiles, waving her hands in the air again and an image appears in the air. A ballerina dancing amongst leaves, the leaves flying as her feet move. 

Cassandra’s eyes are wide. “But Daddy wouldn’t hire you if you were a witch. He says we’re not to have anything to do with witches because of what happened to Mommy.”

“Well, then I guess we best not tell Daddy then, huh?” Clarke winks. “It can be our little secret for now.”

Damon bites on his lip as he glances at Cassandra. “We’re not supposed to keep secrets from Daddy.”

Well, damn. Of course, Clarke knows this. Kids aren’t supposed to keep secrets from their dads. That makes sense. Well, shit. “Let’s think of it as less of a secret and more of a surprise. We can make it a Halloween surprise.”

Cassandra nods slowly. “That could work. Then we’re not lying.” Her eyes glimmer as she smiles. “Oh, man. The surprise on his face.”

Damon looks between Cassandra and Clarke before he nods. “Yeah, I do like surprising Daddy.”

“Excellent.” Clarke claps her hand. Crisis averted. “So the Harvest Festival?”

“Sure, let me get changed.” Cassandra nudges Damon. “Go get your shoes on. We’ll meet you downstairs.”

Clarke shoots them both a smile before heading down the stairs. Okay, she can do this. It’s not that hard. Just have to figure out what it is that the kids want from her and give it to them if she can. That’s not hard—it’s what she does for Olivia and Liam. Maybe she can do this nanny thing. And the Harvest Festival would start them off on the right foot. What could go wrong at a Harvest Festival?

* * *

Eight hours later Clarke is kicking herself in the ass. What could go wrong, indeed? Besides a goat eating Cassandra’s favorite sweater or Damon puking on a coaster. Or the spider incident with the corn. Damon throwing a fit in the middle of the festival with Cassandra glaring at Clarke. Somehow she’d managed to get them out of there and home in one piece. She’d managed to make dinner for them and now they were upstairs in their room and Clarke was at her wit’s end. She can’t do this. There’s no way she can do this. Kids are hard. 

She looks around the living room and sighs at the mess. They’d been down there for less than an hour while she’d made dinner and they’d wrecked it. And shit—is that juice on the white carpet. Great. Clarke hurries over to the sink, finding a floor cleaner and applying it generously. She’ll use her magic to help with that in a minute. She shakes her head as she starts to pick up the mess—she won’t use her magic for this. That’s cheating.

She’s working on scrubbing at the stain, already having used her magic to get the worst of it out, when the door opens. Her head snaps up and her shoulders sag when she sees Bellamy. “Welcome home.” She turns back to her scrubbing. “Don’t worry, it’s just a bit of blood. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“Blood?” Bellamy sputters.

“I’m joking.” Clarke laughs as she glances up at him. “It’s juice. It’s almost out.”

“Well, leave that. I can get it.” Bellamy sets his bag on the counter. “How did it go?”

“Not great.” Clarke wipes the rug, pushing a bit more magic into the carpet. She smiles when it wipes away clean. “All done. There were some incidents at the festival. A goat ate Cassandra’s favorite sweater. Damon got sick on a coaster and then there was the spider.”

“Ohhhh.” Bellamy flinches. “A spider? I’m sure that didn’t go well.”

“It didn’t.” Clarke sets the cloth and scrub brush onto the counter. “Look, I don’t think this is going to work.”

Bellamy sighs as his head drops. “C’mon, Clarke. I know they’re not easy and it wasn’t a great first day. Kids are a lot of commitment—even when they’re not yours. But these kids need someone and I’d really like that someone to be you.”

Clarke’s head jerks up when he says commitment. She can commit. She can. Damn it. Her pride isn’t going to let her back down from this. She won’t let Murphy have the satisfaction. “Fine, I’ll stick around for the rest of the month. That should give you enough time to find a new nanny.”

“How about the end of next month?” Bellamy flashes her a grin. “Thanksgiving is a lot of fun.”

“Nope.” Clarke shakes her head. There’s only so much that she’s willing to put up with and these kids are going to be a lot of work. “You can have me through Halloween.”

Bellamy lets out a sigh of relief. “I can work with Halloween. That’s when my editor and I are pitching my next book to her bosses. Assuming that we get my current one finished.”

“On Halloween?” Clarke’s brow furrows. “That’s a terrible time. Not to mention Halloween is on a Saturday.”

Bellamy shrugs. “It’s when her boss is in town. I should be able to have it done in time to meet you and the kids for Trick or Treating.”

“We’ll discuss this more later.” Clarke grabs her jacket. “What time do you have to be at school tomorrow?”

“7:00. The high school starts at 7:30.” Bellamy frowns. “The kids’ school starts at 8:00.”

Clarke wrinkles her nose. She’s not great at mornings, but all she has to do is get them ready and drop them off. Then she can take a nap. She can do that. It’s not like Olivia and Liam don’t wake her up half the time anyway. “Fine, I’ll be here at 6:30.”

“Maybe 6:00?” Bellamy shakes his head. “You’re right. 6:30 is good. We’ll see you then.”

“Great.” Clarke sighs as she heads out, making sure to lock the door behind her. She knocks her head against her steering wheel after climbing into her car. How had she been convinced to nanny for two weeks? Can she even last that long? All because she doesn’t want to hear Murphy lecture her—she hates it when he lectures her. When did he become the grownup in their relationship? It’s fine. She can do this. 

* * *

Clarke chugs her coffee, cursing as it burns her mouth. Why didn’t she remember to charm it before she started drinking it? Idiot. She waves her hand before bringing the cup back to her lips and drinking again. Much better. She turns her head to look at the house, giving herself a pep talk. An hour and a half to get the kids up, get them ready for school, and drop them off. That’s nothing. She can do that. 

Clarke climbs out of her car and heads to the front door, opening it with her key. She takes a deep breath, letting the scent of the coffee waft over her senses.

“Hey, Clarke! You made it,” Bellamy’s voice floats up the hallway to her. 

Clarke pastes a smile on her face as she heads to the kitchen where she sees him making sandwiches—or at least trying to make sandwiches. “What did the sandwiches ever do to you?” She laughs.

“What?” Bellamy looks up at her, confused.

Clarke walks over and takes the sandwich from him. “This isn’t how you spread peanut butter.” She tosses the sandwich to the side before picking up the peanut butter. “Or almond butter.”

“Yeah, Cassandra is allergic so we don’t use peanut products.” Bellamy shrugs. “You want some coffee?”

“Yes, please.” Clarke nods to her cup. “Cream and two sugars please.” She sets to making sandwiches and has six made in the amount of time it takes him to get her coffee ready. She tosses two in a bag and hands it to him as she takes her coffee.

“What’s this?” Bellamy holds up the bag.

Clarke laughs. “It’s your lunch. Can’t have you starving while you’re at work.” She shoots him a smile before turning back to the kids’ lunches. “So what time can we expect you home?”

“I get done with classes at 2:30 and then I’ll head to my editor’s office. We’ll spend about 4 hours on the book and then I should be home by 7:30?” Bellamy shrugs. “Sorry, I know it’s a long day. The kids’ school releases at 3:15. So you only have them for about four hours after school.”

“No worries.” Clarke sets aside the two lunches she’s finished. “You should probably get out of here so you’re not late. Don’t worry about us, we’re good.”

Bellamy nods. “Yeah. I’ll see you tonight.”

Clarke rolls her eyes as he walks away. Right, she’s got this. She grabs her coffee and takes a long sip, closing her eyes as the door shuts behind him. 

Somehow she does manage to get them up and ready, pulling up in front of their school at 7:55. She gets out as Cassandra and Damon climb out of the car. “Have a great day at school! I’ll be here when you get out!”

Cassandra glances back at her, rolling her eyes but doesn’t say anything. Damon lifts his hand to wave at her, but Cassandra grabs it and pulls him forward.

“Damon!” Liam yells when he sees his friend. “Hi, Auntie Clarke!” He waves at Clarke before grabbing Damon’s hand and pulling him into the school.

Clarke takes a deep breath as Murphy steps into her line of sight, an amused look on his face. She waves at him, eyes sliding to the windows of the school. There are construction paper cut-outs of pumpkins and bats and it makes her smile. She loves Halloween. Maybe that’s how she can get through to these kids. They just need a bit of Halloween in their lives and now she knows just what they’re going to do after school.

* * *

Clarke leans against her car, waving to Murphy who is two cars down from her, as the bell rings. She sees Olivia first who runs over and hugs her before moving down the line to her dad’s car. Liam and Damon come out together, whispering. Cassandra is seconds behind them, eyes latching on Clarke. Cassandra lets out a sigh as she grabs Damon and pulls him toward Clarke.

“Bye Auntie Clarke!” Liam yells as he runs to Murphy.

“No running!” Clarke and Murphy yell together causing them both to laugh. She’s still laughing when Cassandra and Damon stop in front of her. “Hey guys, did you have a good day?”

“It was great until now.” Cassandra raises a brow, an unimpressed look on her face.

Ouch. Clarke schools her face so that she doesn’t react, just continuing to smile. “That’s okay. I’ve got a way to make it a great afternoon. How do you guys feel about going Halloween shopping?”

“For decorations?” Damon tilts his head to the side as he watches her.

“Yup. I noticed that you guys didn’t have any up so I thought we could surprise your dad and decorate the yard tonight. Maybe do the house on Wednesday night?” Clarke’s eyes meet Cassandra’s and she can see that the other girl is interested. “What do you say, Cassandra?”

Cassandra shrugs. “That was always my mom’s thing. We haven’t really done it in years.”

“That’s okay.” Clarke nods to the car. “Why don’t you guys get in? We can make Halloween your thing again and you can tell me all about your mom on the way. How does that sound?”

The younger girl gives her a shy smile before she nods. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

So that’s how they spend the twenty-plus minute drive to the Halloween store. Cassandra tells her the little bit she remembers about her mom, about how she’s afraid that she or Damon will end up being a witch—which would upset their dad. No one finds out until they’re eighteen if they’ve inherited their parent’s supernatural gene or not. Clarke assures her that Bellamy will love them both no matter what. He’s just hurt by what happened to her mom. 

Cassandra tells her that she may not remember a lot, but she always remembers Halloween with Gina. They always went all out on the decorations and she even remembers that their last Halloween they dressed up as a family as the Flinstones. Damon doesn’t remember Gina at all, having only been a year old when she passed away, so he hangs onto his sister’s words. 

By the time they arrive at the store, Clarke feels like she understands the Blake family a little better. They had Gina—an amazing wife and mother—that was ripped from their lives because of a curse. It isn’t fair, but they’ve managed. Because of Bellamy’s fear of witches they haven’t been told about their heritage—which Clarke hopes to fix. 

She keeps Cassandra talking as they buy everything in the store that catches their fancy. Clarke doesn’t have to worry about money—she’s a trust fund baby after all. Plus, these kids deserve a phenomenal Halloween, and Clarke is going to do everything she can to give it to them. 

After buying  _ way _ too many decorations, they head home and get to work on decorating the front yard, working until the sun starts to dip below the horizon. Clarke stands up and claps her hands. “Alright, troops. You did a good job.” She glances at her watch. “Oops, it’s a bit later than I thought. Let’s hurry up and get some dinner made.”

They all head inside, and Clarke throws the fridge open. “Alright, your dad is supposed to be home in about an hour. I’m going to use a little magic to get dinner done faster. You guys go shower.”

“We can stay up until dad gets home, right?” Cassandra bounces on her toes, face alight with a smile.

Clarke doesn’t bother to fight her own smile. What a difference a day makes. “Of course you can! Now go shower and then we’ll eat.” 

Clarke spins back to the fridge. Chili! What a great meal for a fall night. She floats the ingredients across the kitchen, dumping them into a pot that she pulls from a cabinet. With a wave of her hand, it’s like it’s been cooking for hours—the house is filled with the aroma of chili. Yum. Sometimes she’s gotta use magic for little things—it keeps her magic muscles sharp—or at least that’s what she tells herself. 

Once the kids are downstairs the chili is ready and is perfect if Clarke does say so herself. At 8:00, Clarke sends Damon to bed since he’s falling asleep on the couch. “It’s okay, your dad can tell you all about it in the morning before he drops you at my house.”

“What? We get to see you tomorrow?” Damon blinks sleepily at her.

Clarke nods. “Yeah, I texted your dad. Murphy is going to take you guys to school since it’s my day off.”

“Okay.” Damon starts for the stairs, turning back to look at her. “You’re going to tuck me in, right?”

“Of course! Silly me!” Clarke smiles down at Cassandra. “You still good to wait up for your dad?”

Cassandra nods, looking up from her drawing. “Yeah, I can’t wait to see what he thinks.”

Clarke glances at the drawing, and it’s good. Something else they might be able to bond over. She follows Damon up the stairs and gets him in bed, making sure to check the room for spiders thoroughly before heading back downstairs. Just as she hits the bottom stair she hears the front door open. She glances down to see Bellamy’s face buried in his phone.

“Dad! You’re home!” Cassandra tosses her drawing to the side as she jumps up.

“You’re up late.” Bellamy’s brow is furrowed as she looks between Cassandra and Clarke.

Clarke smiles. “That’s my fault. I told her she could stay up to see what you thought of the decorations.”

“Decorations?” Bellamy’s eyes widen slightly as he glances over his shoulder to the door. “Oh, yes. They were great.”

“Really?” Cassandra grins up at him. “What part was your favorite? The skeleton graveyard? The bats? The cats? The dancing pumpkin?”

“Uhhhh…” Bellamy swallows as his eyes dart to Clarke and she realizes he hadn’t even noticed the decorations as he’d walked in.

Cassandra’s face falls. “You didn’t even see them! You walked right past them! We worked hard to surprise you and you don’t even care!” She storms up the stairs.

“Shit,” Bellamy mutters.

Clarke is already heading for the stairs when Bellamy’s hand on her arm stops her. “Let me.” Bellamy sighs as he steps around Clarke to head up the stairs.

Clarke wanders into the kitchen, warming up a bowl of chili for Bellamy. She’s sure that he’s starving. It’s another twenty minutes before he’s walking down the stairs, slumping into a stool. Clarke gives him a soft smile as she sets the chili in front of him. “Figured you’d be hungry.”

“Thanks.” Bellamy leans down and smells the chili. “That smells amazing.”

Clarke shrugs. “I’m actually pretty good at cooking and baking—as long as it’s not my only job. I like things to change up when I’m working which is why being a nanny is working out well.”

“Yeah, I did notice that things seemed to go better tonight.” Bellamy moans as he takes a bite of the chili. “Holy shit, this is the best chili I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Glad to know it meets your approval.” Clarke laughs, reaching for her bag. “Guess maybe I’ll see you in the morning and if not then on Wednesday.”

“Wait, before you go.” Bellamy sets his spoon in his bowl. “Do you think you can stay late again on Wednesday? I have this dinner thing with my editor.”

Clarke frowns at him. “Dinner thing?”

“Well, she asked me to dinner after we finished editing for the night. I don’t even know if she was asking me on a date. I’m terrible at this kind of thing.” Bellamy shakes his head.

“Obviously.” Clarke rolls her eyes. “Well is she single? Because if she is, she was asking you on a date.”

Bellamy’s head drops. “I should’ve known that this was a date, shouldn’t I have?”

“Well, now you know.” She gives him a tight smile. “And of course I can stay late. I’ll see you later.” 

Clarke walks to her car, verbally berating herself. She is not allowed to be attracted to her boss and therefore, disappointed that he’s going on a date. It’s not allowed. She’s only here for two weeks. No attachments. Somehow she’ll have to keep reminding herself of that.

* * *

They don't talk about the date again until Sunday when Bellamy surprises the kids by coming home early from work while they’re working on the kid’s costumes. Clarke has her sewing machine set out just in case Bellamy did come home, but she was using her magic to put together the costumes because it’s so much easier.

“Honey, I’m home,” Bellamy calls as he swings the front door open.

Clarke quickly pushes the pedal to the sewing machine so that it’s running before stopping, lifting the costume for a better view. Cassandra’s costume is finally done with a week to go. Next up is Damon’s. 

“Daddy, look at the awesome costume Clarke made for me!” Cassandra squeals, taking it from Clarke to show to Bellamy.

“Wow, that’s amazing, Clarke.” Bellamy’s eyes are wide as they meet hers. “You’re very talented.”

Clarke shrugs. “I’m alright. My mom always said homemade costumes were better because they were made with love so I’ve been making my own costumes since I was a kid.” She pauses. “You’re home early?”

“Well, if you can stay, I was hoping to sneak out to dinner?” Bellamy is obviously uncomfortable asking her, but she’s guessing he really wants to go. 

“With Echo?” Cassandra asks, snidely.

Bellamy’s head jerks his head in her direction. “How do you even know her name?”

Cassandra shrugs innocently. “I saw it in your phone.”

“Are we supposed to look through other people’s phones?” Clarke asks, not looking up from where she is piecing together the beginning of Damon’s costume.

“No.” Cassandra drops her head. 

“Correct.” Clarke holds out her hand. “Give me the costume and go to your room. No TV or music for the next 30 minutes. Leave your phone with your dad.”

Cassandra drops her costume in Clarke’s hand before turning to her dad and giving him her phone. She walks up the stairs quietly.

Bellamy’s eyes are wide as he drops down beside Clarke. “How did you do that?” he whispers.

“She knows the consequences for when she does things she isn’t supposed to do.” Clarke glances up at him, startling when she realizes how close he’s sitting. “We’ve been working on it.”

“So I see.” Bellamy tosses an arm over the back of the couch, fingers brushing against Clarke’s shoulder.

He’s been like this for the last few days—always finding a reason to touch her and he’s definitely been flirting. Which she  _ doesn’t understand _ since he’s going on a second date with his editor that very night. When they’d been working on dinner yesterday he’d kept finding reasons to brush up against her or take her hand while he was talking. It didn’t make sense to her. She’s afraid to bring it up to Murphy—afraid of what he’ll say. But she has less than a week left. Halloween is in six days. She can make it until then, right?

Clarke swallows before smiling. “So another date with Echo?”

“Yeah, I don’t really see it going anywhere. We don’t have a lot in common, but if I don’t give her a chance how will I know?” Bellamy shrugs. “Do you need help with that?”

Clarke sets the costume to the side. “No, I’ll finish it up tomorrow. Damon is out back if you want to go play with him? I’m pretty sure he wants to play football. I’ll go get Cassandra so we can join you.”

“But it hasn’t been thirty minutes?” Bellamy frowns.

Clarke shrugs. “Time is fluid.” She grins. “Plus you should spend time with the kids while you’re home.”

Bellamy laughs. “That’s true. Why don’t we play out front? That way we can enjoy the Halloween decorations that you guys worked so hard on?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Clarke nods as she stands, heading up to get Cassandra from her room. She’s just so confused by Bellamy. He’s admitted that he doesn’t think it’s going anywhere—is that supposed to be a hint to her? Goddess above, why is he so confusing? 

“Cassandra?” Clarke knocks on the door lightly before pushing it open.

Cassandra lifts the book that she’s reading—The Iliad. Must be one of Bellamy’s. “Don’t worry, I’m just reading.”

“Well, you’re being broke out of jail early.” Clark sits down on the edge of her bed. “Damon wants to play football, so I figure we could play girls against boys?”

“Sure.” Cassandra sets her book down, looking up at Clarke shyly. “I’m sorry I looked at my dad’s phone.”

Clarke nods. “I know you are, but it isn’t me that you should be apologizing to is it?”

Cassandra sighs. “I know. I’ll apologize to him. I just don’t understand why he’s dating this Echo woman when you’re right here.”

Clarke freezes, not sure that she’s heard the younger girl correctly. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

“I see the way he looks at you, Clarke, and I’ve seen the way that you look at him. I’m young—not blind.” Cassandra bites her lip. “The four of us feel like a family. I don’t understand why the two of you aren’t dating.”

Clarke laughs nervously. Well, this isn’t a conversation that she’d thought she’d be having with the ten-year-old daughter of her boss. “Look, Cassandra. I work for your dad. He doesn’t see me as anything more than just a friend who looks after his kids.” She pauses when Cassandra starts to object. “Look, I love you and Damon, but I’m only here through Halloween. I’ll still come and hang out with you guys, but I won’t be here like I have been.”

“But why?” Cassandra’s face falls. “You and Daddy should get married and then you can be here all the time. It makes the most sense. I don’t even know this Echo woman.”

Married? Clarke’s eyes widen. “Marriage is a big step from dating, Cassandra. And we’re not even going to be doing that.” She takes the girl’s hand. “I’m sorry, but that’s just not in the cards.”

Cassandra stares at her for a moment before nodding. “I think that you’re wrong. I think that my dad likes you—a lot. But I won’t get my hopes up. I understand.”

“Good.” Crisis averted—for now. Clarke wonders if she should find a way to bring this up to Bellamy. That is so not a conversation that she wants to have with him. “Now, how about some football?”

She and Cassandra make their way down the stairs and out the front door. Bellamy and Damon are already throwing the football back and forth when they arrive. “So Cassandra and I talked, we want to play girls versus boys.”

“Oh yeah?” Bellamy grins. “I think Damon and I are down for that, aren’t we little man?” Bellamy brushes his hand through Damon’s hair.

“Yup. We’ll wipe the floor with them.” Damon grins up at his dad.

Cassandra clears her throat. “Daddy, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for going through your phone without your permission. I won’t do it again.” 

Bellamy smiles down at his daughter, love apparent in his gaze. “It’s okay. We all make mistakes. You just have to learn from them.” He leans down to press a kiss to Cassandra’s head, eyes flitting up to meet Clarke’s. 

All at once, she’s finding it hard to breathe. He can’t look at her like that—like she’s a part of their family. She feels her heart breaking a little bit more following the conversation she’d just had with Cassandra. She hasn’t known them for long—not even two weeks—and yet she feels right at home. It just feels right and that’s why it breaks her heart that Bellamy is dating Echo. With the way he’s been acting, she thinks that he’s interested in her, but he’s still going out on another date with Echo. Why act like this with her and still date someone else? It just doesn’t make any sense. Fuck.

“Let’s play some football!” Clarke yells, breaking eye contact with Bellamy. She’s getting too attached and she doesn’t know what to do about it—not to mention the fact that she hasn’t told Bellamy that she’s a witch. 

Clarke isn’t the best at football, but she’s super competitive so it makes for a fun game. She fakes a throw to Cassandra before running for the “endzone” which is really just a space between the skeleton graveyard and the dancing pumpkins. Suddenly Bellamy is there, lifting her in his arms before somehow losing his balance and bringing them both to the ground. Bellamy tries to blanket her fall by pulling her on top of him.

They’re both laughing when Clarke lifts her head and he’s  _ right _ there. Her eyes slip to his lips before she forces them upwards to meet his eyes—only his eyes are on her lips. Fuckity fuck fuck. Bellamy’s eyes slide up to meet hers and he’s got that lopsided grin on his face that she loves. Why does this have to be so complicated?

“Doggy pile?” Damon yells before the sound of feet moving across the fallen leaves sound. 

“Doggy pile!” Cassandra confirms as she begins running toward them at about the same time that Damon lands on top of her and Bellamy. 

“Oof!” Clarke can’t keep the sound in as the full weight of the six-year-old lands on top of her, followed quickly by the weight of a ten-year-old. Her body is pressed flush against Bellamy’s and if she’s not mistaken, he is thoroughly enjoying it. Her eyes are wide when they meet his, and they both burst out laughing. 

Someone clears their throat from the driveway, but Clarke can’t see who it is from her position. She keeps her eyes on Bellamy, who cranes his neck to see who it is. “Echo!” 

Echo? What the hell is she doing here? Clarke tries to roll off of Bellamy even knowing that it will send the kids rolling off, but his arms lock around her to lock her in place.

“You forgot your manuscript at the office, so I figured I would bring it by and then we could head to dinner.” Echo’s voice is emotionless—like she doesn’t care that she just walked up on the guy she’s dating with another woman sprawled across him. 

Clarke cranes her head around so she can take a look at her and she will admit she’s gorgeous—the face and body of a model. She can see why Bellamy wants to date her. Even though she’s not the type of woman that Clarke usually goes for, she can appreciate her attractiveness. “Hi, I’m Clarke.” 

She tries to wave, but it sends them all off balance. The kids slide off of her and it’s only Bellamy’s arms anchoring her to him that keeps her in place. She wiggles to try to get free, but he just holds onto her harder. What the hell? Her eyes snap up to meet his only to find that he only has eyes for her. She frowns.

“You know, Echo? I meant to call you before we came out to play football.” Bellamy finally relinquishes his hold on Clarke, letting her slide off of him before he stands. “I really need to be spending time with my family.” He heads over to her, taking the manuscript she is holding. “I just don’t see this going anywhere.”

Echo stares at him for a moment before her eyes flip to Clarke as she nods. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Well, it was nice to meet you, Clarke. Kids.” Without another word, Echo heads to her car without a backward glance.

Clarke continues sitting on the ground even as the kids are moving toward the house. Her eyes are locked on Bellamy’s back as he watches Echo walk away. When he turns around she knows he can read the question written all over her face. He glances at the kids who are already shutting the door behind them. 

Bellamy makes his way over to her, kneeling so that he’s on her level. “I probably should’ve done that before now.”

“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?” Clarke wants him to spell it out for her. She doesn’t want there to be any question on what he’s saying. She doesn’t want to open up her heart just because it sounds like he’s saying what she wants to hear.

“Clarke, do you really not know?” Bellamy sighs, reaching out to cup her face. “There can’t be anything between me and Echo when you’re all I can think of.”

“Oh,” Clarke whispers as she flushes, tongue flicking out to wet her suddenly dry lips. 

Bellamy’s eyes follow the movement and then his lips are on hers—firm but not pushy. Clarke’s hands slide up his chest to link around his neck as his own arms move around her, pulling her closer. There’s a slight brush of his tongue against her lips and she lets them fall open with a quiet gasp. Kissing Bellamy is like nothing else in this world. She loses herself in the kiss, oblivious to their surroundings. 

Suddenly Bellamy pulls away, laughing nervously. “Ummm...Clarke?”

Clarke’s eyes fall open, blinking slowly at him. She’s in a haze. “Hmmm?”

“We’re floating?” Bellamy nods downwards.

Clarke’s head snaps down to the ground and she sees that they’re about three feet off the ground. Holy shit. She’d completely lost control of her magic. She giggles. “Oops?” She slowly lowers them to the ground. 

“So you’re really a witch?” Bellamy’s face is blank as he asks, and she has no idea what he’s thinking. This was not the way that she wanted to tell him, but it’s a little too late now.

Clarke nods. “Yeah. Murphy thought that I shouldn’t tell you. He said you had an issue with it because of Gina.”

Bellamy sighs, looking away from her. “It was hard losing her that way—we were so sure that we were each other’s true love. What kind of asshole does that to a family?”

“An asshole.” Clarke scoffs. “Usually those curses can be traced back to the middle ages or earlier which is why it’s so hard to break them.” She pauses. “I’m sorry that you and the kids had to go through with that, but you can’t just cut those kids off from the supernatural and especially not the witches. What if one of them or both of them ends up being a witch? They’ll inherit the curse too. You need someone to help you work on that. You’ve only got eight years until Cassandra will find out. That’s not a lot of time.”

“I know that you’re right.” Bellamy’s head drops before he looks up at her through his lashes, and she can see the tears that are gathered there. “But it’s so hard, and I’m so scared.”

“You have every reason to be scared, Bellamy. But you’ve got to take a chance on something. Take a chance on me, please.” Clarke reaches up and cups his cheek, tilting his head so that he’s looking at her directly. “I’ll help you. Even if this doesn’t work out between us—which Goddess, I want it to—I’ll still help you because I love those kids. I know that I haven’t known you guys that long, but you feel-”

“Like family?” Bellamy interrupts her, nodding. “I feel the same. I’m falling for you, Clarke. And if I’m honest with myself I suspected that you were a witch. You said it the first night you were here. I should’ve just believed you, and it makes sense.”

Clarke sighs. “Is this going to be an issue? Because I’m falling for you, too.”

Bellamy smiles, leaning forward until their foreheads touch. “No, it’s not going to be a problem. I want this—I want you.”

“Good, because Cassandra told me earlier that she wants us to get married,” Clarke says with a straight face. 

“I’m sorry—she what?” Bellamy sputters. “Married?”

Clarke laughs, throwing her head back as her whole body shakes with it. “You should’ve seen your face right now.” She pauses to get herself under control. “I mean, she did say she didn’t know why you were dating Echo instead of me and that she wanted us to get married. But I set her straight on that.”

“I don’t know why I was dating Echo either when what I wanted was right here in front of me.” Bellamy shoots her that lopsided grin again, and she feels like she’s going to melt into a puddle of goo right there on the front lawn. 

Clarke leans up on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his. “I don’t know either, but you seem to have remedied that, so I think we’re good now.”

“Guess we should let the kids know, huh? Think they’ll be happy?” Bellamy links his hand with hers as he starts to turn to the house.

Clarke laughs. “I  _ know _ that they’re happy, and I don’t think we need to tell them.” She nods to the window of Bellamy’s office where Cassandra and Damon are standing, grinning at them. “I think they already saw.” She waves at the kids.

Bellamy laughs. “So it seems. Something you’ll need to get used to—they’re always there even when you don’t know it.”   
  


“Oh, I’ve already learned that.” Clarke laughs. “And I can’t wait.”

Bellamy brings their linked hands to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. “I’m so happy. You don’t even understand.”

“Oh, I think I do.” Clarke glances up at him. “I mean, I was the one that had us floating off the ground. Remember?”

“How could I ever forget? At least I know our first kiss was memorable.” Bellamy grins down at her.

“That it was.” Clarke glances at the house as the front door swings open and the kids coming running towards them. “I think that we’re going to have a lot of memorable moments in the future.”

“Me too.” Bellamy drops her hand as the kids launch themselves at the pair, babbling a mile a minute about how happy they are. 

Clarke can’t help but smile. She’s found her family—it’s still early, but she knows that they’re meant to be hers. She can’t remember a time that she’s been happier and she feels deep in her bones that this isn’t the happiest they’ll ever be. After all, they have a lifetime ahead of them.


End file.
